What has China or India done to change or reverse there environmental problems?

Question

With the enviromental issues and the threat of global warming what has two of the biggest most polluted countries done in an effort to reverse the damage? Does anyone know?

Answer 1

Both India and China has too much to loose from Global Warming not to act on it. They are seeing melting glaciers leading to water shortages and droughts but also changed rain patterns. Right now about 35 million people in India and Bangladesh are on the run or trapped in their homes due to unusual heavy monsoon rains. China and India are trying hard to speed up the implementation of more renewable energy e t c.

However, in both of these countries hundreds of millions of people still lack electricity at home and the CO2 emissions per capita in China is less than 1/4 of that in the USA (India is even lower).

Both countries finds it unfair that they should be bound to mandatory targets when it's the rich world who is the cause of the problem and we're still way ahead when it comes to emissions per capita. We also have better economical means to address the problem. It's a political game.

Answer 2

Both China and India are growing economies with exploding population growth all looking for a standard of living comparable to what we have in the west. What does this mean?

Increased energy use at a phenomenal scale.

Looking at these countries today is a very unfair method of measuring carbon emissions. It would make more sense to project into the future. (In the west energy use has reached a constant. Population in the west is actually going down. In the east, energy demand is going up exponentially and at the same time population growth is exponential. Add these two measurements up and we can expect some real trouble in the near future.)

If one doesn't really have a strong grasp of economic theory, one would think that if the west were handicapped by global warming legislation, that the east will have the opportunity to come up and perhaps even surpass the west. It takes a rational mind to understand that this isn't so.

If the west is handicapped economically, less investment will go to the east. The fast rise in eastern economies is due to an inflow of money from the west. Right now it is a limitless tap due to the west being economically strong enough to have surplus for investment. That is why most every western country has government programs and private charitable funds going to help causes, development, human rights, poverty, hunger, and industry in China, India, South America and in Africa.

Neither China, nor India, nor Africa have ever been in a position to give charitable contributions to the west or invest in western industries for western upliftment.

The economic theory of investment can be compared to Thermodynamics. In any closed system, it will go into entropy. This is the situation in third world countries. An open system is one that will have energy coming in. This is investment. There is no entropy when there is a constant tap of energy coming into the system. Free trade is how the west works. If other parts of the world get wealthier, so does the west. This principle is just as true for China and India as it is for the west.

It would therefore be in China's and India's interest that the west isn't crippled by Global Warming legislation as being pushed currently by the UN policy makers.

Answer 3

I think they are more concerned with more important environmental issues than global warming at the moment.

Non-polluted drinking water.
Sanitary sewage systems.
Decent health care.
Eliminating toxic pollution.

It will be a while before CO2 emissions make it to the top of environmental issues in developing countries--if ever. Just look at China's commitment to increasing electricity production from COAL.

Answer 4

China doesn't publish much data relating to the environment and it's up to outside organisations to make estimates based on a variety of factors. The Chinese government did announce recently that it was going to implement a wide ranging environmental policy but the details of that policy aren't known.

India is at least more open with it's policies and objectives and has asked for outside assistance in combatting environmental problems.

Although a lot of attention is focussed on both China and India in respect of greenhouse gas emissions it's worth bearing in mind that these are the two most populous nations on the planet and that per head of population their greenhouse gas emissions are small. In the global list of polluters China is about half way down the list, India is about three quarters of the way down (ranked 99th and 132nd respectively).

Answer 5

China and India are involved in the biggest industrial boom in the history of the planet and they don't give a fig about global warming. And if the alarmist in the U.S. have their way and pass carbon taxes it will drive even more outsourcing and manufacturing to Asia.

Answer 6

1. Indians consume the 1/10 the electricity and water as compared to people from developed countries.

2. India's level of industrialization is less; there by less energy is consumed.

3. Indians per capita ownership of cars is less and Indians prefer smaller cars as compared to SUV's;

Same goes for China also.

Answer 7

doubt if anything, I dont think they care about this as other countries; also I doubt that india even has resources to achieve this

Answer 8

not much, here is a couple things:

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/40107/newsDate/1-Feb-2007/story.htm

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/07/content_432104.htm